It's Never too Late to Apologize, or is it?
by angel on wings
Summary: What if the last words he heard was 'nobody wants you here.'Something in your head tells you to apologize.He may be the next one dead but you think he doesn't deserve it.He's taken the insults and the pain but goes to drastic measures to save a life.
1. Cold War

**Chapter 1: Cold War. A War of Words and Nerves.**

**Alright First chapter up! **

**Umm...I don't know what else to say... R&R I guess. This story seems really good to me! The summary tells all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Storm Hawks**

"Hey Piper. Piper…..PIPER…..PIPER PIPER PIPER…."

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD FINN! SHUT UP!"

Finn took it down a tone and said, "Heyy, piper…"

Piper could not keep up with his obnoxiousness and asked through gritted teeth, "What…"

"Watcha doing?"

Piper rolled her eyes and picked up her book.

"What does it look like I'm doing genius?"

"Being boring."

"Then that's what I'm doing."

There hadn't been any Cyclonian disturbances in days and all were wondering what was going on with Cyclonis.

Aerrow came onto the bridge and asked, "What's up team?"

Stork said, "The usual. Wondering when mind worms are going to infect us, or when a sky shark will attack us or when-"

"That's uh…nice to know Stork."

"DOOM! DOOM!"

Aerrow steered Stork to his safe haven. The controls of the Condor.

Stork slumped against the wheel, hugging the controls as if he hadn't seen them in ages. That's when you knew that there wasn't high flying action with the Storm Hawks. Stork got a little…uh…let's say a delusional sort of thing.

Finn couldn't think of anything better to do, so, he kept bugging Piper.

"Piper…are you an alien?"

"Mhmm."

"Can I play with your crystals?"

"Mhmm."

"Is Aerrow your boyfriend?"

Everyone turned to stare at that question. Aerrow blushed as red as his hair.

"Mhmm."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Piper you admitted it."

Piper kicked Finn in the shins and asked, "What the hell did I admit? That you're smart?"

"No. That Aerrow's your boyfriend!"

"Finn, you perfectly well know that Aerrow IS NOT my boyfriend."

"That's what she said."

Piper couldn't keep the thermometer from rising inside her and she finally blew up.

"AERROW IS PIPER'S BOYFR-"

"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD SHUT THE F*** UP FINN! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE! DON'T YOU EVER GET THAT MEANING? SOMETIMES YOU JUST GRATE ON MY LAST NERVES AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE PEOPLE IN PEACE? NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE!"

Piper stormed off to the kitchen in a fury. No matter how many times Finn could bother her, he still didn't get the meaning of the word NO.

When she finally got the kitchen, her nerves had somewhat cooled down. She thought about what she said, "_Nobody wants you here anymore."_

A voice at the back of her head kept saying, _``What if he ends up dead in the next minute? The last thing he would have heard you say was nobody wants you here."_

Piper muttered to herself, "He doesn't deserve any sort of apology from me."

*Condor Bridge*

Aerrow was about to put a hand on Finn's shoulder when he abruptly turned around and said, "If you're going to try and patch up the mess Aerrow, it's not worth it. Just leave me alone."

"Finn…maybe-"

"Maybe what? Maybe we can negotiate with Piper? Pretend everything's okay? Aerrow, you just don't get it. You and Piper get along great. You two were practically made for each other. But for me, it's a whole other story. I'm just trying to help lighten up the mood like I did when we were little. I guess it's a different story when we're older. You think I like it when Piper and I bicker all the time? I just want to be friends. Not World War three."

Junko stepped in. "Maybe we can-"

"Stop with the maybe's. Because 'maybe' can lead to an uncertain fate."

Finn walked off to his room to go and probably have a fit of rage.

On the bridge, there was total silence. In all their years together as the Storm Hawks, never, ever, had they seen Finn talk like an Albert Einstein.

Aerrow looked around and said in the awkwardness, "Okay…is it just me or did Finn talk like some genius back there?"

Stork said, "You might want to stop World War three before it's going to begin. In three…two…-"

"FINN GET OUT OF HERE! I WAS HERE FIRST!"

"Can't I just get-"

"NO! I SAID GET! OUT!"

Something clattered against the wall, and then screams, doors shut, then silence.

Aerrow sighed.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm running a day care with those two."

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><p><strong>I guess...next chapter goes up when I get the reviews or views! Hope you enjoyed. This should be three chapters long, all pre written!<strong>

**~angel**


	2. Fight to the Finish

**Chapter 2: Fight to the Finish**

**Sorry to those who hate long chapters. It just worked out this way :) and thanks to all those who favourited, reviewed, subscribed, story alerted etc.**

**Hope you enjoy:) Two more chapters to go! And I did say they were pre-written but I guess I got caught up in other things and forgot about them...Hehe. Oops.**

**Disclaimer: Nerd Corps owns Storm Hawks if I owned them, I'd keep the show going *cough* *cough* Nerd Corps.**

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><p>Aerrow walked into the kitchen and sat on the stool beside Piper.<p>

Piper looked at him and rolled her eyes. "What?"

"What did Finn do?"

"He purposely comes into the kitchen to bother me again when I told him not to!"

"Piper, I've never seen you act so childish before. I mean… you've always been so patient with him."

"So what. I can't blow up? If I keep the steam going for so long, I'll eventually have to you know."

"Piper, what I'm trying to say is just apologize to him."

Piper almost tipped her stool over in the process of standing up defiantly. "NO WAY! ABSOLUTELY NO WAY DOES FINN GET AN APOLOGY FROM ME!"

"Piper-"

"Aerrow, if you're going to make me apologize to that thing, then no way. Stay away from me!"

Aerrow wiped a hand over his face in frustration.

Next stop, Finn.

Aerrow took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Uh…Finn?"

There was no reply from within the room.

"Finn, are you in there? If you're trying to scare me I just want to talk."

There was still no reply. Was Finn really in there?

"Finn, I'm coming in."

Aerrow prayed, '_Please say he's decent.'_

The door released and Aerrow walked in. Finn was sitting on his bed, his back towards Aerrow.

Aerrow scoffed, "Finn, if you're going to exist, you might want to answer when I call."

"Who says I have to?"

Aerrow saw Finn shake a bit. "Buddy, you okay?"

"I'm fine Aerrow. Just leave me alone." Aerrow could hear the fear in his voice. Since when did Finn back down from a fight with Piper? Since when did Finn ever show fear?

Aerrow walked around to face Finn but what he saw almost knocked the wind out of him. For Atmos' sake, Finn LAUGHED in the face of danger.

Aerrow smacked the item out of Finn's hand. "What in Atmos' name are you doing Finn?" The scissors landed by the wall. Red crust embedded on the blades.

Finn started to shed a few tears but tried to hold them back. Aerrow gently removed the hands off of Finn's legs. Blood was smeared across his boxers.

'_Bastard, no life, not wanted.' _All these words and a couple more were scratched onto his leg by the scissors.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Finn?"

"If nobody's going to listen how I feel…then what's the point? Why not just scratch it on myself?"

"Finn, you're better than this. I've never seen you like this before. If you need counselling, we'll get it for you. Just…just don't do this to yourself. This isn't you."

Finn started shaking uncontrollably. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "Do you think I like it Aerrow? Do…do you think I do? Everyday I have to get up and think about more insults from Piper. Everyday I face those 'you're so stupid Finn, you're so useless, and now…nobody wants you here.' I have had to face that for eight years of my life. I've had it."

"Then why didn't you just tell her?"

"Do you think Piper would actually listen to ME of all people?"

"Now that I think about it…no. Oh wait yes, yes she would." Aerrow probably thought he just made the situation even worse. No, was not the answer he should have said.

"Don't try lying to me Aerrow. You're so friggin transparent."

Aerrow scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Eh-heh."

He looked away for just one second, and Finn was already crawling towards the scissors. Aerrow took a quick move and stepped on the scissors just as Finn's fingers were going to clutch it. He quickly kicked the scissors away.

Aerrow had no choice. He had to resort to a threat. He took Finn by the collar. "Finn I swear on your grave, my grave, on the whole Atmos. If you don't stop engraving yourself with negativity, so help me now…I WILL throw you into the wastelands. Am I clear?"

"You can't do that to your own team mate."

"Just watch me Finn. Just watch me."

Aerrow quickly did a sweep of Finn's room and made sure Finn did not have any weapons he could possibly hurt himself with. He was also going to have a talk with Piper.

When Aerrow walked into the kitchen, Piper was still on the same stool stabbing a fork into the table.

"Piper, calm down."

"Why don't you?"

"What? Me? I am calm. What I want to say is to apologize to Finn. PLEASE." _'So I can get out of this hellish dream'_

"No."

"Aww brother. C'mon Piper."

"Give me one reason why I should."

"Because of your…your insults, you've kind of let Finn down to his last nerve. He-"

"He what. Touched the crystals in my lab again? Ripped the pages out of my books?"

"No. He started to cut words into his legs with scissors."

"Wait…what?"

"I said he started cutting words in his legs with scissors."

"No. I..I didn't mean for this to happen. I should-"

Then, the alarms started ringing.

"Stork what have we got?"

"The Dark Ace."

"Piper, stay on the Condor with Stork. The rest of you, with me."

Junko asked, "Where's Finn?"

"I'm right here." Aerrow slapped a hand on Finn's shoulder. "Let's go Finn."

Finn gave a lopsided smile. He tried to look like he was okay. Aerrow thought, '_Talk about transparent. Finn's as transparent as air. Wait…does that even make sense? O.o'_

Everyone took to their skimmers.

They drove head on to the Dark Ace and his talons. Aerrow drove up alongside him. "Time to meet your doom Aerrow."

"Your getting a bit repetitious Ace. Might want to try saying it when you actually mean it."

The Dark Ace brought his sword down on Aerrow's daggers.

"Back…off…Ace."

"Not a chance Storm Boy. If you want to get free, you'll have to send me down first."

Ace kicked Aerrow in the gut sending him to the edge of his skimmer.

Aerrow grimaced at the pain but was going to continue fighting. He wasn't going to give up that easily.

Aerrow swiped Ace's feet from under him which made him fall on the wing of Aerrow's skimmer.

Ace quickly took his blade and stabbed it into the wing. The engine started to sputter and smoke started forming in the air.

"Looks like I actually meant it this time. Aerrow. Oh yes, and thank you for making this such an easy defeat."

The Dark Ace hopped on his skimmer. Aerrow wasn't going down. He whipped out his daggers and blasted a Cyclonian off his skimmer and got on it.

Ace could hear an engine roaring and coming closer at him. "What the- damn. That little brat just won't give up."

He swivelled his skimmer around to face Aerrow.

He quickly took a shot towards Aerrow, which gave the boy no time to think or turn back.

The blade jabbed him in the arm. Blood started seeping out. Aerrow quickly deactivated the sword to lessen the pain. He pulled the sword out but it was covered in his blood.

Aerrow was going to bring the Dark Ace down if it meant sending both of them down.

The Dark Ace snatched the sword out of Aerrow's hand and was about to give a shot to the heart.

Finn saw what happened to Aerrow and felt a lump in his throat. He wasn't about to just watch his best friend/big brother die.

He drove his skimmer at top speed and lunged at the Dark Ace. A talon caught the Dark Ace on his skimmer.

"Good luck finding your way out of the wastelands."

Aerrow saw the two fall, the Dark Ace being caught, but Finn kept falling. He of all people, the clown of the Condor, the complainer, whatever you wanted to call him, it didn't matter now. He was Aerrow's lifesaver. He could have been falling into the wastelands but Finn took the plunge and took his place.

He was going down to go and rescue Finn but suddenly found himself surrounded on all sides by talons. There was no way this was going to be a one man job. It was every man for himself now.

'_Come on Finn. Make it out alive.'_

Wastelands

Finn was falling uncontrollably. He couldn't stop himself.

Just as he fell onto the rocky ground below, he felt a crunch.

He grasped his right arm in pain. He tried to move it but it felt like a thousand skimmers being rammed into him.

Something fell from the sky and landed three feet away from him.

He mumbled to himself, "Like my life's worse enough. You want to kill me?"

He took a closer look at the pile of junk. "Yeah. The Dark Ace HAD to send my only way of escape to oblivion."

"Aerrow to Finn, Aerrow to Finn….come….in."

"What the- my transmitter? OH COME ON. Everything had to be crushed except the thing that probably WON'T help me."

He pressed the transmission button. "What Aerrow?"

"Are you-OH BACK OFF ACE."

Finn cut the transmission from Aerrow. "I can get out on my own. Thanks sooo much Aerrow."

Suddenly, the ground underneath him started rumbling. "What now?"

The lava geysers started rumbling and bubbles started popping.

Finn thought, 'Maybe cutting transmission wasn't such a good idea.'

He pressed the button hoping Stork would answer his distress call.

"Finn to Condor, can anyone here me?"

"Piper to-oh it's you. What's up? Your parachute can't deploy?"

"Shut up woman. I'm down in the wastelands and the geysers look like they're about to erupt."

"Well, just as long as you're back against one of the far walls-"

"Piper, hell my arm is probably broken and it hurts to even get up."

"Fine, we'll come and get you. Stork-"

"You guys are too far away. You won't be able to reach my coordinates in two minutes."

"Then what do you want me to do? Hold you by the hand like a baby and try to calm you down with a pacifier?"

Finn tried to hold back the tears. There was no way he was going to cry and give Piper the satisfaction she wanted.

"No Piper. I want you to say goodbye to the team for me."

"Wait, what?"

"Piper, face it. I'm not going to make it out of here, I can barely get myself off the ground without feeling that skimmers just ran into me."

"Come on Finn… you have to make it out of there alive."

"Oh so now the she-witch cares?"

"Finn you could have just told me to stop insulting you. I…I'm sorry for what I did. Just please, please come out alive. I don't freaking care if your arm is broken use every muscle you have to scale those walls and we'll come and get you."

One geyser erupted.

"Finn, what was that?"

"A geyser erupted." He gulped down a lump in his throat knowing that every second that passed by, was one second closer to his death which he knew was coming.

"Please Piper. Just tell everyone that they were the best crew a sharpshooter could ever have, you guys were the best family I could ever have, and I love you all- AHHHHHH!"

"Finn?" "Sorry. The lava burnt a bit of my hand."

"Finn you idiot. I swear if you don't get out of there I'm giving extra chores to you regardless of what Aerrow says."

Silence.

"Finn. Finn…."

The two geysers flanked on either side of Finn started to rumble and the lava started to overflow. "This is it Piper. This is goodbye. For now anyways."

"Finn, Finn you…I-"

He cut the transmission once again. The lava overflowed, the geysers rumbled. He shuffled his feet so they would carry him back to the wall but it wasn't enough.

He struggled to get up and run. All his legs would do was take him into a staggering toddler walk.

'_Please legs, pick up the pace, carry me out of here.'_

He ran and ran away from the incoming lava but managed to trip over the hole of a geyser and hit his head.

He groaned and rubbed his head.

Then the Earth started shaking.

Finn's eyes grew wide. _'No please!'_

The geyser shot him into the air. It singed most of his back, his legs and his hands. Most of his body. Third degree burns.

The pillar of lava dropped back down and Finn was thrown a few feet away from it. He managed to knock his head and it started bleeding.

He slowly started fading in and out of consciousness. He heard a buzzing sort of noise in his ear. It sounded, not like an animal, but more of…a vehicle probably.

Then he heard a voice and soft hands started shaking him.

"Finn, I told you I'd make it. Finn? Finn! Please stay with me. I'm going to bring you back to the Condor and we're going to patch you up okay?"

"Pi…Piper?"

Piper started tearing up but quickly wiped the tears away. Finn looked….terrible. Well, he always looked terrible considering the fact that he sometimes didn't know which foot was which and he could sometimes put his shirt on backwards, and on top of all that, put so much gel in his hair mind worms couldn't get into his brain because they'd be stuck in all the gel. (As Stork put it). But, this time, he looked more of a scared eight year old. His face was pale, most of his body was burned, scratches and bruises lay on his face. There was also blood trickling from the back of his head.

"Yes Finn. It's me."

"Well…I guess…who else could it be? I've heard your voice, mad or happy, for the past ten years."

"Finn, don't talk about dying I'll-"

"Piper….it's too….late. I….can already feel my heart giving out."

"Finn, you have to fight! Think about what Aerrow teaches us everyday. To never give up." The dam in her eyes broke and tears started trickling.

Finn felt them and asked, "Are you crying?" He gave a weak laugh.

"Finn, if you knew how I feel inside right now, you'd be crying to."

"Yeah right. The Finnster never cries."

"Aerrow told me what you did to yourself Finn. If you would've just…talked to me and gave in a few sobs here and there, I would've stopped."

"Yeah. Because acting…like an apologizing six year old will help."

"I guess I should have listened. You don't deserve this Finn. I…I wish-"

"We all wish Piper. But…what's done is done. You can't undo the past anymore than it has been damaged."

His eyes started to close, his breaths coming to a quick close.

Piper scooped Finn up in her arms and cried out, "Finn! Finn! Finn, please stay with me. Concentrate on the sound of my voice. Just please, don't leave Finn. Just keep squeezing my hand if you can hear me. I'm sor-"

Then his hand let go, his eyes closed. His body lay limp.

"FINN! FINN!" She shook him. "Please Finn wake up! Wake up!"

Tears blurred her vision. This was it. His life had come to a short close. She told him to go away but he died there. In her arms.

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><p><strong>There you have it! Another chapter! Hope you enjoyed and sorry for the delay!<strong>

**~angel**


	3. Squadron Log

**Chapter 3: Squadron Log**

**Nerd Corps own Storm Hawks**

**^^^If I did, I wouldn't leave SH as a cliff hanger.**

Aerrow had to literally drag Piper out of the wastelands. He sent Junko to take Finn's body to the Atmosian morgue on Terra Atmosia.

Aerrow put his arms around Piper. "Piper, it's going to be okay."

Through sniffles she replied, "No it's not Aerrow. All I wanted was to say sorry and I never got the chance. The last thing he heard me say was to keep living. I didn't do it. He died in my arms Aerrow. He died in the arms of the person who wanted him gone."

"Piper, just….just think about all the GOOD times you've had with Finn. Those memories will last forever. Come here."

He wrapped her in a tighter hug, stroking her hair to calm her down. "It's going to be okay Piper. Tell you what. Why don't you get some rest. In the morning if you don't feel any better, we'll go to Tropica okay?"

She thought, _'Finn's favourite place.'_

"Alright."

Aerrow left to go to the bridge and help Radarr with some of the repairs. Piper left to go to her room.

When she passed by Finn's room, something in her felt drawn into the room. Like…there was a stone unturned. She quietly snuck into his room making sure that nobody saw her.

She kept rummaging through his stuff. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for but she knew there was something here that may or may not reveal itself to her.

She looked in just about ever drawer, closet, under his mattress, under his bed, everywhere. Except….by his teddy bear Finnster. Piper rolled her eyes and remembered the day she gave him the teddy bear.

*Flashback*

"I'm six years old! I don't know how to build a fort."

Piper said, "Well you should! You're a guy and how come Aerrow can build a fort?"

"I don't know. Maybe that's because I have a life Miss. Know-it-all."

Piper whipped a small rock at Finn and said, "Shut up."

"Oooo. You said shut up! I'm going to tell-"

"Tell who? Your mommy? Woops! That's right! You don't have one!"

"Neither do you Broken Pipe."

"For the last time! My name's not Broken Pipe, it's PIPER. P-I-P-E-R. Piper. And what's your name Finnegan?"

"No! It's Finn."

Aerrow walked right in front of the two and said, "Shut up. Both of you. If we're going to survive the night in the storm we have to build SOME kind of make shift fort."

"Fine," they grumbled.

"Piper, I need you to start building a fire and Finn, you'll come with me and collect some branches."

"Okay. At least I'm away from Broken Pipes!" He snickered and walked away leaving Piper with steam coming out of her ears.

Piper quickly picked up a rock and was about to hurl it at Finn. "And no Piper, don't use that rock as a weapon against Finn."

Piper almost crushed the rock into little bits of dust.

She stormed off to collect some stones and sticks.

"Aerrow, why can't we live in a dumpster for tonight? I don't want to sleep outside where the storm can reach me."

"Well, all I know is that you won't want to live in a dumpster unless you want people to think you actually live in garbage."

"At least we'll have a roof over our heads."

"Finn, we're trying our best. All we have to do is stick together and we'll find a way out of this mess. I promise."

*Nighttime*

The three were huddled under their make shift tent of branches.

Thunder rumbled closer and closer to Terra Atmosia and rain didn't seem to touch the kids at all. All were sound asleep. Except for Finn. He lay awake staring at the triangle top of their "tent". He wished his mom were here to rock him to sleep and to come into his room when the thunder bothered him, but nobody was there to do that for him.

He picked himself off the hard ground and looked around. Then…he saw it. A teddy bear right by Piper's sleeping form. He thought, 'She's asleep. She doesn't really need it.' He quietly wriggled the teddy bear out of her arms, cuddled it close to him, and feel asleep.

"FINN WAKE UP!"

He rolled over and squished the teddy bear underneath him.

"What," he mumbled.

"YOU STOLE MR. BEAR AWAY FROM ME!"

"No. I BORROWED him. I was going to give him back after the storm was over."

Piper tried in vain to pull the bear from underneath Finn's body. She finally got ahold of an arm and yanked and yanked, and finally, pulled him out making Finn roll face first in the dirt.

"Hey! You pushed me!"

"No I didn't. I was trying to get my teddy bear back."

"But it's still dark out here. I can't go to sleep without my mommy here and I have nobody else to make me feel better."

"You have us…"

"That's different."

Piper suddenly felt sorry for Finn. Maybe she shouldn't have been so harsh on him. Well…she could sleep through the storm without Mr. Bear and besides, she didn't really play with Mr. Bear anymore. She decided she'd be nice. Just this once.

She looked at the bear and then to Finn who lay awake staring at the roof, again.

She reached out her hand. "Here Finn."

"What?"

"I want you to have Mr. Bear."

"Really?"

"Yes. And if anybody asks, I didn't give him to you."

"Okay. Thanks Piper."

He showed a beaming smile at the bear. "Now your new name is the Finnster!"

Piper rolled her eyes. How much more idiot could one Finn have?

*End of flashback*

She put Finnster aside and saw it. Was this what her heart was drawing her to? Finn's….squadron log? Maybe this was the answer to console her. She was going to regret doing this…..

She flipped open the pages. Wanting to respect Finn's privacy, she opened to the very back of the book.

_Squadron Log: 5:18pm_

_Why do I even keep a squadron log? I don't know. Maybe it's to….I dunno. I'm out of ideas._

Piper rolled her eyes. He didn't even write an idea down. Idiot.

_Today….I was watching home movies with the crew. And mine was (obviously) THE best. If I may say so myself. Do you know how much effort I put in to making my hair look good? Stork's movie was uhhh…. How should I put this…interestingly paranoid. We've run into almost all of the things we SHOULD avoid on Atmos and NOW he tells us? Piper's movie was just BORINGGGGGG. UPCHUC? I upchuc when Junko cooks. Trust me. Anyways I'll skip the other movies. What the point is is that Aerrow was right. It's not the brave and the brilliance that makes a squadron. It's the people you're with. Your family. Man, I can't believe I'm even writing this….but…I've decided to be nice and write something nice about everyone in our squadron._

_Aerrow: My big bro and best friend. He always rescues me from an attack with Piper. He can always be someone to talk to when you need it. He's just got all the qualities a Sky Knight could ever have. Always a team leader, always pushing us to our limits to the point where you want to throw a boulder at him, and telling us to never give up. He's always there to protect us._

_Piper: Do I even have to say?_

Piper thought, '_Oh great. Here come the insults.'_

_She's smart, brave, and well, funny. She's unlike any of the girls I've ever seen in the quadrant. She's willing to go out and face Cyclonians. Maybe even death. BUT LOOK AT ME NOW! LAUGHING IN THE FACE OF DEATH. All thanks to Piper. If a girl can stand up to the challenge, then so can I…I'm not gonna let HER stand me up. I've learned a lot of things from her. How to use my resources, how to use different crystals, how to throw better insults…okay forget the last part even though it's true. But, she's also got the heart of an older sister. Always looking out for you and telling you to do your best._

_Junko: HAHA! My other best friend. Even though Junko is ALWAYS, YES, ALWAYS….. Taking the VERY LAST piece of chocolate cake almost every time we buy it, he never gets mad at you. If you ask me, I'm off the hook right there. I know this one is short for a best friend but he is the best softie, kind, giant wallop anyone could ask for in a best friend._

_Stork: Even though he's got paranoia all the time, he always rescues me when I run into something I'm not supposed to. He's got the remedies even though they sometimes stink, look terrible or, even, taste terrible. And I have to say he's an AWESOMEEEE carrier pilot! Man you should watch him zoom through and bang through those Cyclonians like there's no tomorrow! Although, he can cut the act when Junko always manages to collide on me, and I'm stuck at the bottom of the pile._

_Radarr: Dude… you don't have to tell me twice. Playing charrades with you stinks. I'm terrible at it, and so are you. You're really good at checkers though and someday I WILL DEFEAT YOU!_

_People of Atmos: At first you were scums who wouldn't let the Storm Hawks become a squadron because you thought of us as kids. But look at us now baby! And to repay us…you make us action figures. Chicka cha. Just kidding. Yeah know? Just playing with you. Heh-heh. Ahem. Okay. Just needed to get that out there. Anyways. In the toughest of times, you always had our backs and kudos to Starling who always believed in us from the start. AND I AM NOT A Squirrly kid Starling. Don't jug a book by it's cover._

Jug a book by it's cover? I think it's supposed to be JUDGE. Oh well. That was Finn for you. Sometimes couldn't get his grammar right.

_Squadron Log: Out_

Piper almost felt her heart break in two at the last sentence. Someday he would defeat Radarr in checkers but….he never would. Reading everything in his log gave her some consolation. Maybe this is what Finn WANTED her to see, she didn't know.

She took the book with her and walked to the bridge. Only Aerrow was there.

"Aerrow…"

"Yeah? What's up Piper?"

"I…I need to show you something."

She walked over and placed the book in Aerrow's waiting hands. "Wait…this is Finn's squadron log. Are you sure you should be looking at this?"

"I think he wanted me to see it. Just read it."

"There's nothing dirty in there Is there?"

"No."

He sat down on the sofa and patted a place next to him for Piper. They both read it through.

After reading it for about the third time, Aerrow asked, "Should we tell the crew?"

"I think it's best."

He got up and offered a hand to her. She took it willingly and intertwined her fingers in his. It was the only way to keep herself steady and not falling over.

The past couple of days had been quite a blur. She wished this didn't have to happen, but, it did. And as Finn said, 'You can't undo the past no matter how much it has been damaged.'

Piper took in a deep breath. She wasn't going to be a baby and cry again. For about the millionth time that day.

Aerrow could see her fighting the tears. It showed in her eyes. "Piper, it's okay to cry. Everyone's been taking it pretty hard but, no matter how many times you two have fought over something stupid, you two were probably the closest at heart. He was like a brother to you wasn't he?"

She nodded.

"I just don't want to think of him gone anymore Aerrow."

"We all wish the same thing Piper. We'll be strong for him. And get the Dark Ace for him."

She gave a small smile. "Okay."

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Someday we'll get the Dark Ace. And you never forget that someday, we'll see Finn again. I promise."


End file.
